Day-trips from Luzerne
 

My sister and brother-in-law are staying in Luzerne (- 5/6 days) later this month, and are looking for ideas on possible day-trips by public transport.

Any suggestions on their best options would be much apprerciated. Thanks in advance for any help you can give.

Steve

Hi Steve_James,

What have they already planned?

Just off the top of my head, I would say a trip to the peaks of Rigi, Pilatus, & Titlis, and also a visit to the town of Engelberg. Information at

www.rigi.ch
www.pilatus.ch
www.titlis.ch
www.engelberg.ch

Visits to lakeside villages like Weggis and Vitznau. Information at

www.weggis.ch
www.vitznau.ch

Do they like to walk in the woods? Lots of options, either on the mountains or around the lakes.

Hope they have fun!

s

You have many options:

Zürich (museums, old town)
Bern (museums, old town)
Basel (museums, old town)
Interlaken (Jungfraubahn - mountain scenery)
Einsiedeln (monastery, not sure about train access)

For train connections, see www.sbb.ch

Just to jump in Einsiedeln is easy by train, Lucerne to Arth Goldau, Arth Goldau to I think it is Bibberbruge and the train goes to Einsiedeln have a look on www.sbb.ch/en and double check I have the right station after Arth Goldau. In my opinion well worth a visit.

Thanks for your replies.

Swandav - to answer your question - they won't want to walk in snow/ice, so hiking will be out, I think. They enjoy train travel, and are hoping to do a section of the 'Glacier Express' route (- Brig-Chur?) on one day (- not sure how viable this is from Luzern as it looks a long ride).

Are there other scenic train rides nearby?

I think they're interested in a day (- or half-day) in Berne. Is there enough interest in Interlaken for a full day? Would they have time to go to the Wengen/Jungfrau area?

Any other suggestions would be great. Please keep them coming ...

Steve

Hi again,

Yes, I think Bern is worth a full day; it's a great city. Here is a link to a walking tour that's been posted at Trip Advisor:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g1...r.Of.Bern.html

They may also want to see Zug and Basel, both nice and close to Luzern.

No, I don't think Interlaken is worth the trip. The town itself isn't much -- hotels, restaurants (a Hooters for goodness sake), souvenir stores, etc. It only exists as the transport hub for trips up to the mountains. It will take about two hours to get to Interlaken, which isn't bad. But another 40-50 minutes to get to a village like Wengen. And then about another hour to get to the Jungfraujoch. So altogether it's about five hours of transport in one direction, or 10 hours in one day. To me, that's a big waste of precious in-Switzerland time, especially because there are some mountains that are nearer. Engelberg is a mountain town and would have some of the same aspects of Wengen.

You (or your friends) may want to go to Trip Advisor, go to their forums, and go to the forum on Luzern. There are a bunch of "Top Questions About Luzern" that a great poster (pore) has given about excursion, off-the-beaten-track things to do, etc.

I think that doing a train trip like the GE is ok, but only just ok. With so many mountains, lakes, and pastures, and with only five/six days, it really seems a shame to spend time inside. I LOVE trains, but to me they are transport; they should not be a substitute for standing with one's feet on the mountains. Also, to me, just about any train trip is going to be "scenic" though maybe not marketed.

Anyway, best of luck!

s

The trip from Luzern to Lake Brienz by train is scenic.

Also you might want to peruse this:

http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel...erne-BR-1.html

http://www.mountaingetaway.com/centr...trip-in-luzern

http://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowTopic-...itzerland.html

Thanks very much for all your posts, ideas and links :) Lots of good stuff for me (- and them) to look at ...

Swandav - If they do choose to do a part of the 'Glacier Express,' is it actually viable from Luzern to do the Brig-Chur sector? Or a shortened part of that? It looks to be a whole day on the train from Luzern ...

Steve

Hi again,

Well sure, if they want. I don't have any experience with it so cannot help. You can get the basic route at

http://www.glacierexpress.ch/route.php

Then just look at a map to see where they'd want to start and end, and use the Swiss rail site to look at connections. It may be better to do either Brig-Andermatt or Andermatt-Chur.

You're a prince to do this!

s

Good morning Steve_James :)

Engelberg makes a lovely excursion from Luzern, just a short one hour's train ride away.

swandav has expertly given you the links to Titlis, the rotating tram up into the Alps. Quite thrilling to be riding up-up-up while the tram slowly rotates 360 degrees. A view for everyone!

Engelberg is a small town, easy for walking. At the far edge is a monastery. Inside its cafe, they have cheese-making demonstrations. On a much smaller scale than in Gruyere, but very interesting nonetheless.

Happy travels!